Bill Chappell

Bill Chappell is a blogger and producer who currently works on The Two Way, NPR's flagship blog. In the past, he has coordinated digital features for Morning Edition and Fresh Air, and edited the rundown of All Things Considered. He frequently contributes to other NPR blogs, such as All Tech Considered and The Salt.

Chappell's work at NPR has ranged from being the site's first full-time homepage editor to being the lead writer and editor on the London 2012 Olympics blog, The Torch. His assignments have included being the lead web producer for NPR's trip to Asia's Grand Trunk Road, as well as establishing the Peabody Award-winning StoryCorps on NPR.org.

In 2009, Chappell was a key editorial member of the small team that redesigned NPR's web site. One year later, the site won its first Peabody Award, along with the National Press Foundation's Excellence in Online Journalism award.

At NPR, Chappell has trained both digital and radio staff to use digital tools to tell compelling stories, in addition to "evangelizing" — promoting more collaboration between legacy and digital departments.

Prior to joining NPR in late 2003, Chappell worked on the Assignment Desk at CNN International, handling coverage in areas from the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America, and coordinating CNN's pool coverage out of Qatar during the Iraq war.

Chappell's work for CNN also included producing Web stories and editing digital video for SI.com, and editing and producing stories for CNN.com's features division.

Before joining CNN, Chappell wrote about movies, restaurants and music for alternative weeklies, in addition to his first job: editing the police blotter.

A holder of bachelor's degrees in English and History from the University of Georgia, he attended graduate school for English Literature at the University of South Carolina.

The Two-Way

9:18 am

Tue March 31, 2015

The Obama administration is pledging that the U.S. will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26-28 percent of 2005 levels over the next 10 years. The new target was submitted to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Tuesday.

The Two-Way

7:13 am

Tue March 31, 2015

The six nations that have been debating a plan to curb Iran's nuclear program and ease economic sanctions will hit the deadline for a framework agreement at 6 p.m. ET. Ahead of that deadline, there are signs that a deal is in the works — and that it might not be a sweeping arrangement that lays out future terms.

Early Tuesday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said he believed an agreement would be reached by the end of the day.

The Two-Way

6:04 am

Tue March 31, 2015

Demonstrators gather outside the City County Building in Indianapolis Monday, calling for the state house to roll back the controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which critics say can be used to discriminate against gays and lesbians.

A new Indiana law that has set off a firestorm of criticism and threats of boycotts should be repealed or revised, says Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard. Titled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the law has drawn protests from critics who say it allows businesses to refuse service to gays and lesbians.

Ballard tells NPR's Steve Inskeep that those who support the law are "missing the bigger trend."

He added, "Everything changes over history. We have to get to a certain point where we have that balance."

Things are getting wild at the British prime minister's residence. No, that's not a reference to the official start of the 2015 election campaign: Photographers who staked out 10 Downing Street today captured images of a fox slinking past the door of the famous residence.

And that's not the only animal that appeared at Prime Minister David Cameron's door today. His cat, Larry, popped out for some fresh air — and shared an awkward moment with a police dog.

A car that was intercepted near the security gate of the National Security Agency's headquarters at Fort Meade, Md., was fired upon Monday morning, in a clash that left one of the car's occupants dead.

Authorities tell NPR's Dina Temple-Raston that after two suspects tried to ram a vehicle into the entrance gate, one suspect was shot dead and the other was injured by NSA security guards.

The violence took place in Anne Arundel County, where officials say the investigation is being handled by NSA police. Fort Meade lies between Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, Md.

South African comedian Trevor Noah will become the new host of Comedy Central's The Daily Show, stepping into the role Jon Stewart has filled for 16 years.

Confirming reports of his new job Monday morning, Noah tweeted, "No-one can replace Jon Stewart. But together with the amazing team at The Daily Show, we will continue to make this the best damn news show!"

Andreas Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings plane that crashed in the French Alps last week with 150 passengers on board, received treatment for suicidal tendencies for several years before he became a pilot, a German prosecutor says.

Christoph Kumpa, a spokesman for Duesseldorf investigators, says Lubitz "had been in treatment of a psychotherapist because of what is documented as being suicidal at that time."

With Tuesday's deadline for an international deal on Iran's nuclear program approaching, foreign ministers from Iran and six world powers are trying to hash out an agreement. The debate currently centers on where Iran's nuclear fuel should be stored, and how — and when — economic sanctions should be lifted.

Other details, such as rules controlling enrichment, the length of the deal and how it would be enforced, also remain unsettled.

Responding to an incident that has sparked street protests in Charlottesville, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe has ordered a state investigation into the arrest of a black University of Virginia student. Martese Johnson, 20, was left with blood streaming down his face after being arrested by Alcoholic Beverage Control agents.

The case created an uproar after photos emerged showing Johnson, a member of U.Va.'s Honor Committee, lying on the sidewalk with uniformed ABC agents crouching over him. Portions of the concrete, as well as Johnson's head and shirt, are bloody.

One day after a shocking attack in Tunis killed at least 20 foreign tourists and rattled Tunisians, authorities are looking for anyone involved in the gunmen's brazen assault of the National Bardo Museum. Tunisia's president says his country is "in a merciless war against terrorism."

Roars of disapproval rang out in Australia's Parliament on Thursday, after Prime Minister Tony Abbott called Labor leader Bill Shorten "the Dr. Goebbels of economic policy." In the ruckus that ensued, three lawmakers were ejected and another walked out.

An enormous limestone cave in Vietnam is the subject of a jaw-dropping new video that uses aerial drones to show its immense scale and beauty. Hang Son Doong is the world's largest cave, featuring a river and huge "skylights" that have allowed trees and wildlife to flourish within it.

American photographer Ryan Deboodt says he filmed Hang Son Doong on his third visit to the cave. He edited his film down from some three hours' worth of footage.

The Two-Way

7:39 am

Wed March 18, 2015

Jarvis Summers of the Mississippi Rebels sits on the court in the closing seconds of his team's 17-point comeback win against Brigham Young during the first round of the 2015 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.

Ole Miss scored 62 points in the second half last night to dig its way out of a hole and into the big bracket, on the first day of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. At the half, the Rebels were 17 points behind BYU — which had pulled off its own miracle comeback just three years ago.

BYU suffered the loss in Dayton, where it had made a historic 25-point comeback in the 2012 NCAA tournament.

Police have arrested eight men suspected of carrying out the 1995 mass killing of more than 1,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men in Srebrenica. War crimes prosecutors ordered what are said to be the first arrests in Serbia of direct participants in Europe's worst atrocity since World War II.

The eight men are accused of killing "over 1,000 civilians of Muslim nationality, whose remains were identified in mass graves at several locations," reports Serbian news agency B92.

A test on an envelope that arrived at the White House Mail Screening Facility on Monday indicates that it contains cyanide, according to the Secret Service. The agency did not announce to whom the letter was addressed. Further tests are being conducted to confirm the results.

The Two-Way

1:26 pm

Tue March 17, 2015

Citing both potential harm to society and the Computer Crimes Act, Thailand's Culture Ministry is urging women to resist what it says is a new trend of taking photos that focus on the midriff and the lower portion of their breasts.

The warning was issued Monday — and a ministry official acknowledged that in speaking out against an online trend, the agency ran the risk of drawing more attention to it.

The Two-Way

10:56 am

Tue March 17, 2015

Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy testifies before a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the Secret Service budget Tuesday, when he responded to sharp questions about misconduct by his agents.

Answering pointed questions about new claims of misconduct by his agents, Secret Service Director Joseph Clancy says he had a "good stern talk" with his staff about why he wasn't told sooner about an incident in which two senior agents who were apparently drunk drove a government vehicle through an area at the White House complex where their colleagues were investigating a suspicious package.

The Two-Way

9:04 am

Tue March 17, 2015

Bhutanese football player Chencho Gyeltshen controls the ball in a March 5 match against Sri Lanka. The striker hit two goals Tuesday to lead Bhutan past Sri Lanka and into the next phase of World Cup Qualifying.

They started the game ranked 209th out of 209 national teams — but Bhutan will progress to the second round of World Cup Qualifying after beating Sri Lanka in consecutive matches. The 2-1 victory comes less than a week after its historic first win in a World Cup qualifier.

The win puts Bhutan into the Asian group stage, where they'll gain more international experience as they play for a chance to move another step closer to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.

The Two-Way

6:42 am

Tue March 17, 2015

San Francisco 49ers linebacker Chris Borland (50) is seen here in a game last year against the New York Giants. Borland, who had two interceptions in that game, has announced that he is retiring from the NFL after his rookie season.

Concerns about possibly incurring brain injuries have prompted Chris Borland to end his NFL career after just one season, during which he emerged as a star on the San Francisco 49ers' vaunted defense. Borland, 24, said, "I just honestly want to do what's best for my health."

Saying that he had consulted with other players, medical experts and his family, Borland stated, "From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don't think it's worth the risk."

The Two-Way

5:22 am

Tue March 17, 2015

An Israeli woman votes with her daughter at a polling station in the coastal city of Haifa on Tuesday. Israel faces an unpredictable election to determine whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will remain in power.

Exit polls released after the close of voting in Israel's national election show that the race is too close to call.

Israel's Channel 1 and Channel 10 both said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party and Isaac Herzog's Zionist Union secured 27 seats each in the 120-seat Knesset. Channel 2, meanwhile, have Likud 28 seats and the Zionist Union 27. The numbers were published by Haaretz.

The Two-Way

3:30 pm

Mon March 16, 2015

A still image from surveillance video that was entered as evidence shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in 2013, in a handout photo provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston. Tsarnaev, 21, is accused of killing three people and injuring 264 with a pair of homemade bombs at the race's crowded finish, as well as fatally shooting a police officer three days later.

Police officers testifying at the trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev described a gunbattle and powerful explosions Monday, recalling the death of Tsarnaev's older brother and the process that ended an intense manhunt for the pair.

Tsarnaev's attorneys have admitted that he was involved in the deadly bombing and the events that followed. But they also insist he was led into the operation by his older brother, and they say he doesn't deserve the death penalty.

The Two-Way

12:01 pm

Mon March 16, 2015

The status of a patient with Ebola who was recently admitted to a specialized federal facility in Bethesda, Md., has changed from serious to critical condition. The American health care worker, whose identity hasn't been publicly released, was taken to the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health last week.

The patient being cared for in Bethesda contracted Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone, where the aid worker had been with the group Partners in Health. The person was flown back to the U.S. Thursday, aboard a private jet.

Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana are locked in a very public argument with musician Elton John over their recent remarks condemning in vitro fertilization and saying same-sex couples should not raise children.

After John called for a boycott of the designers' clothes, Gabbana defended his right to air an opinion and urged people to shun the singer, responding to John's Instagram post by commenting, "Fascist!!"

The Two-Way

8:57 am

Mon March 16, 2015

Resident Uwen Garae stands in his home damaged by Cyclone Pam in Port Vila, the capital city of the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, Monday. The storm destroyed homes, smashed boats and washed away roads and bridges as it struck late on Friday and into Saturday.

Officials in Vanuatu are still assessing damage from what President Baldwin Lonsdale says was "a monster" — Cyclone Pam, a strong storm that hit the small nation in the South Pacific with winds that damaged or destroyed 90 percent of the buildings in the capital, Lonsdale says.

"This is a very devastating cyclone in Vanuatu. I term it as a monster, a monster," he said. "It's a setback for the government and for the people of Vanuatu. After all the development that has taken place, all this development has been wiped out."

Making his first verified public appearance in more than a week, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the conspiracy rumors that were whipped up in his absence were silly. Putin appeared Monday with Kyrgyzstan's president in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Saying that he's trying to save the community of Ferguson, Mo., Mayor James Knowles says that he is frustrated and concerned by the tone of Attorney General Eric Holder's remarks about his city and its police department — both of which were harshly criticized in a recent Justice Department report.

Knowles also says that he sees no reason to step down, as some of his critics have demanded, stating that he still has residents' support.

The Two-Way

2:42 pm

Fri March 13, 2015

Alyssa Smith readjusts Desiree Andrews' hair as they cheer for the seventh grade basketball team at Lincoln Middle School on Monday in Kenosha, Wis. The gym has been dubbed "D's House" in Desiree's honor.

In Wisconsin, what began as a heartwarming show of courtesy and affection is now making Desiree Andrews, 14, into an international celebrity.

Desiree is a cheerleader at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha, Wis. She has Down syndrome — and as some hecklers learned last year, she has the full support of her school's basketball team and her community.

In an expansive interview coinciding with the second anniversary of his unexpected election, Pope Francis said his time as the head of the Roman Catholic Church will be brief.

Francis said he misses the relative anonymity he had as a bishop. As NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports, "He also said he doesn't mind being pope, but would like to go out in Rome unrecognized, for a pizza."

The pope's comments came in an interview with the Mexican broadcaster Televisa.

The Two-Way

9:18 am

Fri March 13, 2015

Belgium's plan to honor the Battle of Waterloo displeased France. In this photo, an enthusiast dressed as a member of the French army stands next to a cannon before the re-enactment of the famous battle.

Many are calling it the second battle over Waterloo — and this time, France won. A two-euro coin commemorating the bicentennial of Napoleon Bonaparte's defeat will not be widely released, after France objected to what it called a "negative symbol."

An American health care worker who contracted Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone is now receiving care at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland. The patient's condition is still being evaluated, the NIH says.

The patient is the second to be treated for Ebola at the Bethesda facility, which previously cared for — and eventually released — Nina Pham, a nurse who contracted Ebola in Dallas. The hospital has also monitored two patients who were seen as being at high risk of having the deadly disease. They were later released.